Summa Theologica - 01 Pars Prima, Initial Questions

Summa Theologica

by Thomas Aquinas, Jim Ruddy (Narrator), Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Translator)

The Summa Theologica (or the Summa Theologiae or simply the Summa, written 1265–1274) is the most famous work of Thomas Aquinas although it was never finished. It was intended as a manual for beginners as a compilation of all of the main theological teachings of that time. It summarizes the reasonings for almost all points of Christian theology in the West, which, before the Protestant Reformation, subsisted solely in the Roman Catholic Church. The Summa's topics follow a cycle: the existence of God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. (Summary adapted from the Wikipedia)

This is part one of six parts of the Pars Prima, consisting of the Initial Questions.

Audiobook

Published March 19, 2009

About the author

Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and theologian of Italy and the most influential thinker of the medieval period, combined doctrine of Aristotle and elements of Neoplatonism, a system that Plotinus and his successors developed and based on that of Plato, within a context of Christian thought; his works include the Summa contra gentiles (1259-1264) and the Summa theologiae or theologica (1266-1273).

Saint Albertus Magnus taught Saint Thomas Aquinas.

People ably note this priest, sometimes styled of Aquin or Aquino, as a scholastic. The Roman Catholic tradition honors him as a "doctor of the Church."

Aquinas lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that obtained for centuries. This crisis flared just as people founded universities. Thomas after early studies at Montecassino moved to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican order. At Naples too, Thomas first extended contact with the new learning. He joined the Dominican order and then went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, formed out the monastic schools on the left bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master, Thomas defended the mendicant orders and of greater historical importance countered both the interpretations of Averroës of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result, a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy, survived until the rise of the new physics. The Catholic Church over the centuries regularly and consistently reaffirmed the central importance of work of Thomas for understanding its teachings concerning the Christian revelation, and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource, now receiving increased recognition.

Reviews

[Richard Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

"we purpose in this book to treat of whatever belongs to the Christian religion, in such a way as may tend to the instruction of beginners." (from the introduction)

A high quality free audio book of the beginning of Thomas's Summa. There's a lot here that's brilliant, there are other parts that seem a little unnecessary (maybe it's the way my brain works but why would anyone spend time demonstrating that truth and falsehood are opposites?)

Brief Consideration
Many consider this to be the gold standard on the attributes of God. It's certainly profound and contains many brilliant insights; but I don't think it meets the design of the book. This is absolutely not how I would introduce any kind of beginner to the christian religion. Maybe the target is the experienced Christian now beginning as a scholar, rather than the true beginner, but even then the focus is not how I would want it at at all.

This material is useful for reference, for studying the nature of God and responding to certain objections however there is a serious lack of worship to God for the truths being considered AND very little about Christ. I know Thomas will consider Christ later in the Summa, but how can you spend this long introducing the christian religion to a beginner without talking about Christ.

Ultimately I find myself largely agreeing with the content but disagreeing with the method of presentation and style.

Summary Thoughts
I can't currently comfortably reccomend this except for academic and reference purposes - I would instead point people to volume 2 of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics for many of the same points made in a clearly christian and worshipful style.

I hope to return to Thomas in the future - this was certainly an interesting intro and despite my dislike for the style the material itself is highly valuable.

[Dwight · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I think is lost in the audio medium is being able to easily jump back to compare objections to their responses, or jump back to see which question you are on. The narrator uses a different voice for the objections which does help to keep those straight, but in longer questions with multiple objections sometimes it gets a little cloudy what the response is responding to.

[William Whalen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh God, my head hurts. Trying to follow the convoluted logic present in this work is dizzying. I am heavily into history and it has become clear that St Thomas Aquinas was a major factor driving Western culture and therefore to better understand historical figures a reading of Thomas is necessary. While the reading (listening) was difficult, it was also very rewarding.